Speech nonfluency in response to
questions about the marital relationship was used to assess anxiety. Subjects were
31 husbands and 31 wives, all white, college educated, from middle- to lower-middle-class
families, and ranging from 20 to 30 years of age. Three types of nonfluencies were
coded: filled pauses, unfilled pauses, and repetitions. Speech-disturbance
ratios were computed by dividing the sum of speech nonfluencies by the total words
spoken. The results support the notion that some issues within marriage are more
sensitive and/or problematic than others, and that, in an interview situation, gender
interacts with question content in the production of nonfluencies.